Microsoft Announces Major Halo News, Updates & Releases Coming Soon

July 7, 2017

Among the many games talked about at E3 2017, Halo is a title that fell below the radar. Outside of having a reference to Master Chief appear in an Xbox montage,the franchise was largely absent from the show. Microsoft did that on purpose, though, and as news that surfaced proves, big things are coming.

Microsoft is announcing four last-generation Halo games will be coming to Xbox One Backwards Compatibility. These four Xbox 360 titles include Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4 and Halo CE: Anniversary. All four games will support the main campaign, multiplayer and LAN gaming on Xbox One.

Not only will LAN-play be available on Xbox One, but it will also be available between the One and Xbox 360. Microsoft says these titles will hit Backwards Compatibility later this year. They also are confirming every Xbox 360 add-on map pack in the Xbox Store will be free. This is a great get for gamers looking to experience DLC from these four games.

Next, Microsoft conspicuously didn’t say anything about the series as it related to Xbox One X. The new system will be receiving 4K updates for a throng of already available Xbox One games. Now joining the group is indeed Halo 5: Guardians. Later this year is when Guardians will receive its 4K update, though there’s no specific date yet.

More details on Guardians‘ 4K release will occur later this year. Microsoft will share more details on this as launch approaches. I would be somewhat surprised if this 4K update didn’t happen at the launch of Xbox One X. It will be important for Xbox to have its biggest franchises sporting their 4K capabilities on Nov. 7.

Moving onto a different Halo series, this past February saw the debut of Halo Wars 2. The game continues to see new updates and improvements, and those will not be stopping. Microsoft is confirming four months of new updates are coming to Season Pass holders.

Plans for further post-launch support are in full swing for Halo Wars 2. Microsoft is announcing that once the Season Pass is complete in August, a new premium expansion “Awakening the Nightmare” will follow. This adds a new campaign from the perspective of The Banished, and will see the return of the Flood. Several new Banished leaders are coming, in addition to a new multiplayer mode “Terminus Firefight.” More details on the expansion can be seen here.

Newgear and collectibles are coming from the “newest Halo Crate,” and this includes a number of items. These things range from novels to comics to action figures. Additionally, 343 Industries will be meeting up with members of the community. Instances to meet the devs will include RTX Austin 2017, HCS Summer Finals, ChinaJoy and gamescom 2017.

While there isn’t a new Halo coming to Xbox One X for its launch this fall, plenty of new content is on its way. It’ll be interesting to see just how much the Xbox One X update advances Guardians‘ experience. The new system will launch this coming Nov. 7. Stick around here at We Write Things for more on Halo.

About Steve Ruygrok

Gaming, Spirits, and Craft Beer enthusiast. If you say you don't like beer, then you just haven't had the right type yet. Great spirits keep away the bad ones. Video games are kind of amazing, just do it...or something like that.